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a29brh
How do barcode scanners work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eawjs8r" ], "text": [ "It shines a light, the black part of the barcode absorbs the light and the white part reflects it, so the reader receives aback the reflected white parts and is able to read the pattern." ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a29ddk
Why does the Google maps voice sometimes sound normal and then suddenly become robotic?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eaw8i67", "eawpt8a" ], "text": [ "The different noises/letters are separately recorded and some flow together better than others I think", "It depends on if it's streaming text to speech from Google servers vs if it's coming from your local phone. If you lose your connection or your c...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a2cxbb
why is the download speed of a file always less than the speed shown on an internet speed test like ookla?
For example, my current internet speed is roughly 30mb/sec... but my Sims 4 update is only downloading at roughly 1mb/sec. Where does the rest of my internet go?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eax2m5x", "eax263f", "eax39c7", "eaxk927" ], "text": [ "First of all, you're mixing up mega*bits* and mega*bytes*. A byte is 8 bits, and internet speeds are usually given in megabits, while actual download speeds are given in megabytes. So your speedtest result is 30megabits/s, wh...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a2e421
Why are electric cars more eco-friendly if electricity is still fossil-fuel powered?
If a normal car burns gas, I get why that's bad for the environment, and an electric car doesn't. But doesn't the power that charges electric cars still come from power plants that also are bad for the environment? How big is the difference in pollution?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eaxcp06", "eaxcvf3", "eaxccow", "eaxdc99", "eaxdpk4" ], "text": [ "> But doesn't the power that charges electric cars still come from power plants that also are bad for the environment? Some of it, sure, but not all. But, even if all power was produced from fossil fuels, it's ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a2ewfd
How do prosthetic arms work?
How is a person able to move a hand and even the fingers of a prosthetic?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eaxwbzg", "eaxkwn3" ], "text": [ "Hi there! I'm a prosthetics student, so I'm happy to answer this one! It's important to remember that there are various levels of amputation. If a person is missing fingers, there are devices that can be controlled by the remaining fingers. If someone is ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a2gb3u
How are old songs like "Here comes the sun" remastered?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eay3mze", "eay3stg" ], "text": [ "It depends on how it was mastered in the first place. And frankly, there isn't a strict definition of the word \"remaster\", so it really means whatever the marketing department says it means. In the old days, you recorded through a mixing board directly ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a2h2ze
how do self checkout machines ensure that customers aren't stealing items or taking things by mistake when scanned incorrectly?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eay867w", "eay8fhc", "eayai91", "eay9rzn", "eay9opf", "eayfeja" ], "text": [ "They've calculated risk. Essentially, people are generally trustworthy and scan all items. If there is an issue they wave down the assistant. For the few people who do steal stuff, the expense of...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a2i9v7
If I text my friend and immediately see it pop up on their screen, how far has that text gone to get there? To space and back?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eaylp7y", "eaylj6y", "eayluk1", "eaywkne", "eaz6szq", "eaz7h0h", "eaz7lf1" ], "text": [ "Almost certainly not to space, that takes too long. It goes via radio to the nearest cell tower, then by fiber optic line to your cell company, then via data link (probably not the...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a2kiyu
Why do phone manufacturers let their customers set the date and time on their phones to before the phone's manufacturing date?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eaz7i39", "eaz7mb6", "eaz8sap", "eaz8z9d" ], "text": [ "Why would they put even a second of thought or effort into preventing that? There is no harm in doing that. It doesn't hurt the device and there is no reason the company would care.", "There are standards in the industry ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a2lhrc
How does the Emergency Call feature work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eazfdpm" ], "text": [ "Most phones will allow a user to bypass log in/unlock screens of a phone to open up a dialer window that is only allowed to connect a small set of phone numbers, including emergency services." ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a2lp09
How do Asian keyboards work?
just a quick google translate says this is "the house" in japanese 家, so they use symbols instead of words, but you couldn't put all these symbols on a keyboard so how does it work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eazh6yf", "eazgqme", "eazgyec", "eb0353i" ], "text": [ "Specifically Japanese - Each kanji has a pronunciation that can be romanized. For example, \"egg\" is pronounced \"tamago\". So, I type in \"tamago\", then press the space bar to convert. If there are multiple kanji with the ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a2m98r
RAW image format. How does it capture more data than what the pixels in the sensor see?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eazki8r", "eazkd02" ], "text": [ "It doesn't capture more data, it holds *exactly* the data that the sensors can see. When the camera (or any other software) converts the RAW image into an actual image format such as JPG or PNG, it actually has to discard some information. For example, ea...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a2tzkz
What is a DNS record composed of? What data can it store?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb16c7c" ], "text": [ "Your question didn't make clear if it was about what goes on the wire or what is defined on the name server. On the wire, there are requests and there are replies. Requests only had the requested label and some basic options in it, modern requests also have a bunch of o...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a2uuu6
How do football clubs know who in a stadium has committed an offence in order to ban them?
As in [the man being banned from Tottenham games for throwing a banana at a black player on the pitch]( URL_0 ), and numerous other incidents of people being banned from football grounds for offences including shouting racist/homophobic abuse and throwing things on the pitch, how are the clubs able to find and identify...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb1bkqd" ], "text": [ "CCTV surveillance and a security staff. There is usually at least one guard per section watching the crowd." ], "score": [ 3 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a2xnw7
How is it when you’re using something that uses two batteries and it starts to go dead you can switch the same batteries in different slots and I’ll give your electronics more battery life?
It’ll*
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb1zudx", "eb1xfoh", "eb2fpwh", "eb1wq5d", "eb20syy", "eb1wmrj", "eb2afft", "eb2ambc", "eb2iu18" ], "text": [ "Two reasons: 1. Removing and reinserting the batteries cleans some oxidation off the contacts, improving the connection. 2. Handling the batteries hea...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a2xqmw
How is it that ads play well on mobile apps even when the internet is spotty?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb1x7ji", "eb210jo" ], "text": [ "They are preloaded I think? They do the same on Instagram or FB even when I have no data or Wi-Fi enabled. But I'm sure someone has the actual answer for you.", "There are different types of advertisements depending on the developer and the advertisin...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a30t9l
Why do hard drives need to be formatted before you are able to store data on them?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb2fnw3" ], "text": [ "There are a bunch of possible ways to lay out files on a drive. What formatting does is mark the drive as using a specific layout and write a bunch of bookkeeping data to the drive that's needed for that layout, so that when the operating system goes to look up files, i...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a31nfr
Why do satellites need periodic adjustment to stay in orbit but the moon does it just fine on its own?
Satellites (and the ISS) have their own propulsion and fuel and occasionally fire their engines to adjust position. When they run out of fuel or their engines otherwise fail, they eventually crash to Earth. The moon has no engines and has been up there for thousands of years. What gives?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb2ma58", "eb2n1kv", "eb2net3", "eb2nge1" ], "text": [ "Because satellites and ISS are on the edge atmosphere, so there is some resistance from atmospheric particles that slow them down over time.", "And the moon doesn't have to be accurately set at a specific position. In fac...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a32y8m
Why is it that YouTube never struggles to stream an ad whether it be 5 seconds or 3 minutes when there is bad connection, yet my videos struggle to stream.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb2xcg8", "eb31y5e", "eb346m4", "eb34lyq", "eb3eukb", "eb3fao2", "eb3dz7i", "eb3fcq2", "eb3ew1f" ], "text": [ "Ads are hosted on different servers, better infrastructure, and are usually located closer to you than (most) videos you'll watch. More popular videos...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a36qyh
When close to burning out, why will a fluorescent tube struggle to illuminate for long periods of time then work fine once it has started?
As title states
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb3vsg1" ], "text": [ "A fluorescent tube works by having an electric discharge through mercury vapour. That doesn't happen immediately on turning on the power. Instead the starter rewires the power through two heater filaments at the ends. After a delay the switch opens and puts the voltage ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a37mbv
When did IP addresses change to that new format and how does it work?
Did an IP Config tonight and instead of the old format of [123.123.123.123]( URL_0 ), I've got something that looks more like a MAC address. When did this change?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb40c7s", "eb40wth", "eb40glu", "eb54zl7", "eb41awo" ], "text": [ "That’s IPv6 (as opposed to the familiar IPv4). The standard has been around for quite some time and is slowly gaining traction. Most infrastructure anymore can route both, and you’ll sometimes see both addresse...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a37qz8
How fo radio stations transmit text (title of station and song) to cars through FM/AM radio waves?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb43rqr" ], "text": [ "There is a low bandwidth digital signal broadcast by the FM station. It is outside the audible range. It only carries around 1200 bits/second, but that's enough for title, artist and call sign. It is called the [Radio Data System]( URL_0 )" ], "score": [ 26 ],...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a3ad6j
How does cartoon animation work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb4l9z8", "eb4lb3m" ], "text": [ "That was mostly how old-school animation worked. There were some shortcuts like having a static background, and then drawing the character movements on a transparent sheet above the background. (That's why in old cartoons, you can tell the difference betw...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a3andn
How are earbuds and headphones able to make music / audio sound like its coming from inside your head?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb4nkjl" ], "text": [ "So you have two ears, right? And sound is actually pretty slow, you can see it when someone claps on the other side of a road and you hear it only a moment later. So what your ears do is they check if a sound comes to one ear earlier than the other. That happens complet...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a3c7ue
Where does that money go when an online transaction fails and the amount is debited from one side but is not credited on the other side?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb4zhrt" ], "text": [ "It stays with your bank. Real time transactions are between banks and banks, and no \"money\" but the \"amount\" is debited from one bank and goes to next bank. If a transaction fails, the bank still keeps your money and returns it to your account." ], "score": [ ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a3d5w7
How does a night light or car with automatic lights know when to turn on? How can it truly detect if there is light?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb582bl" ], "text": [ "Cars use photo sensors, sometimes on the dash under a frosted cover and sometimes in the back of the mirror. They aren't usually on the outside, that would expose them to environmental effects." ], "score": [ 6 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a3d6xu
Why does chrome need so much RAM?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb56hay" ], "text": [ "Web pages are complex. Browers can handle that complexity either with CPU or with RAM. The more CPU you use, the less RAM you need, and vice versa. This means that high usage of RAM is a good thing. You want as much of your RAM to be used all the time. Unused RAM doesn'...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a3dxp4
How does "Zalgo" text work?
By "Zalgo text", I'm referring to text generators like URL_0 , which formats any text you enter in it with an overload of extra symbols to make it look like a demon has possessed your Internet browser, kind of like this: Ê̱̤̹͖̖̈́̒͑̎̕͜ͅx̘̖̲̅̔͐ͤ́ṯ͈̣̻̼͚̈͊̈̊̐̈́ͮͮ̿͝ͅr̶̲͎̘̞͂͌͌͐̆ͫ̄̚a͇̔̀ͮ͠ ͇̥̪͍̼ͨ̓̔̿͌̉ͨ̚͘s̴̨̮̩̥ͦ͊ͫ̋̆͂ͥ͟p̾̈́̅̐̓ͨ͜͠...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb5chtw", "eb5ccrr" ], "text": [ "Yo ho ho! Yer not alone in askin', and kind strangers have explained: 1. [ELI5: How exactly does Zalgo text work? ]( URL_4 ) ^(_1 comment_) 1. [How do you create crazy looking text like this (p̷ͦ́̓͘a̐̿̆̂͋́͛̀̃̀͘͠҉͞s̃͊̂̈́͋̍̕҉t̷̛̋͆ͪ̇̄ͥ̓̈a̐̿̆̂͋́͛̀̃̀͘͠) and wha...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a3eyks
Why does google earth not display the north pole?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb5l3vp", "eb5labl" ], "text": [ "Because it technically is just ocean. It's always frozen, but it's ocean. Unlike Antarctica, which is an actual landmass, the North Pole is a floating ice sheet. So instead of live tracking which parts are ice and which aren't *cough cough global warming*...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a3fm59
What is the difference between Bandwidth vs Latency?
I've heard them in terms of some analogies but am still kind of confused. If the analogy is cars on a high-way, is bandwidth more like having more lanes? Or is bandwidth more like cars are getting on the on-ramp at a higher frequency? Does that mean that Latency is the travel time?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb5rmpq", "eb5tr0k", "eb5u5b1", "eb5yrun" ], "text": [ "Bandwidth is how many cars can be on the road, latency is how fast they are going. So you basically got it. & #x200B; Another way to put it would be how many things you can carry vs how long it takes you to deliver them.", ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a3g580
How did people change/alter pictures in the 1930s-1950s? Apparently pictures like the Nazis marching through the Brandenburger Gate or Lenin's speech were edited, how did they do that, with what tools available at their time?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb5wdke", "eb62duf", "eb5wlbx" ], "text": [ "You know how people will say that things like fashion models are \"airbrushed\", but of course they mean that their photographs were digitally altered? An airbrush is a real, physical painting tool used to spray paint, ink, or dye. They cou...
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[ "url" ]
a3icp7
Monitors - What is the difference between response time (ms), refresh rate (hz) and frames per second (fps)
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb6h9s9" ], "text": [ "Response time is a measure of how quickly a pixel can change from one color to another on an LCD monitor, since LCDs work sort of like a little curtain opening and closing that allows a light to shine through. A longer response time means that the image can appear blurr...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a3ih3o
Why is modern electronically generated voice usually a female voice?
Today, things such as voice assistant devices (i.e. Amazon Echo), answering machines, computer text to speech (in default), etc. usually have a female voice. However, most 20th century electronic devices with a voice synthesizer chip (i.e. DECtalk, Texas Instruments Speak & Spell, etc.) generate a male voice. Why is mo...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb6ivwh", "eb6twdf" ], "text": [ "There are a few reasons. 1) People tend to like a female voice more than a male voice, just in general, especially an alto like Siri or Alexa. Everybody loves their mother, etc. 2) Disembodied voices that provide assistance have historically been female, ...
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[ "url" ]
a3kvuk
How in the world does a cd, mp3 player, or any other sort of digital music player take data and turn it into sound?
I think I understand how data is stored... But how does it go from data to sound??
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb71p0f" ], "text": [ "Remember, it starts out as sound. When it's digitized, it is compressed using an algorithm. To turn it back into sound, the process is simply reversed. It is decoded using the same algorithm. It's also important to remember that all sound is simply vibration at varying ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a3l6ra
Why are the front and back cameras on smartphones not the same to begin with? Why do they need to differ in quality?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb73ucz", "eb73uty", "eb73x9a", "eb73z1j", "eb7793x" ], "text": [ "cost and size. if all other variables remain constant, a bigger lens allows for better photos, as well as a bigger image sensor (the light sensing chip behind the lens). since they’re intended for different thi...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a3pc09
How did we ping the first satellite?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb83hss", "eb807fm" ], "text": [ "We didn't. The first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, had nothing aboard but a transmitter that simply beeped until its battery ran down. Tracking was purely by radar.", "The first satellite could not receive a ping. For the first one that could: We s...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a3qxhq
Self driving cars
I have never seen a self driving car in person yet. But all these pictures in news articles and everywhere else show that they have outside rear view mirrors (OSRVM). Do self driving cars need a rear view mirror? What's the purpose of OSRVM in self driving cars?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb8ehiw", "eb8gn2b", "eb8k3zp" ], "text": [ "They don't \"need\" them to operate the self driving feature, but they aren't there for the computer. They have them for a variety of reasons. The biggest one is that most self driving cars are regular cars (Uber uses Volvos, Google has use...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a3vhjb
how are timelapses of growing plants made
How are timelapses like these made? URL_0
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eb9h1ao" ], "text": [ "a stationary camera is placed in position and is set to automatically take a photo every minute/5 minutes/hour/whatever and then those images are combined into a timelapse video" ], "score": [ 5 ], "text_urls": [ [] ] }
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a3y7qg
why airplanes have a special headphone jack?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eba1k6w", "eba4cmw" ], "text": [ "Originally, so you had to hire theirs instead of using your own. Nowadays you can buy an adaptor. It works the other way round too, their headphones don't fit your stuff so they're less likely to be stolen.", "Ripped this straight from quora: > Why do...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a3z6w2
Why are dots and dashes the only acceptable non-alphabetical/numerical characters in usernames on social media sites and message boards?
Like is there any specific reason as to why other characters cannot be accepted, like an asterisk or a currency symbol?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eba8qrj", "ebapn7u", "ebaiyrs", "ebamhhk", "ebau2kw", "ebadizm", "ebbaprh", "ebam7rg", "ebariw4" ], "text": [ "In programming, certain characters are reserved as special characters. These characters vary by programming language, so it's easiest to just prohibit...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a3zkbv
How is google search so ridiculously fast?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eba9iwj", "ebabkgt" ], "text": [ "Because Google doesn't search the internet every time. It has bots (so called web crawlers) that surf through the internet constantly and make some kind of phone book, memorizing everything they see. So if you type something intk Google, to stay in the ph...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a40x7g
Why are radio stations identified by their exact frequency, such as 103.1Mhz, whereas TV stations were traditionally identified by a generalized channel number, such as 7?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebaqk64", "ebaqxm5", "ebarkdc", "ebaq60t", "ebaqopr", "ebar0ev", "ebas2xf" ], "text": [ "Radio signals are a single frequency. TV signals contain(ed) multiple frequencies (for the video, RGB colors, and separately for the audio), so they made a dial with \"channels\" i...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a41j62
how does polymorphic code work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebarq3n" ], "text": [ "Imagine a living Rubik's Cube whose function is to keep you from solving it. Whenever you try to solve it, it changes itself to make it more difficult. When you make one move, it makes another move, just to prevent you from solving it. This is basically what polymorphic...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a41luk
How does the weather get reported by each town to the weather app on my phone?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebas8mr" ], "text": [ "There are organizations (large groups of people) who have satellites (giant cameras and sensors in outer space) which send the information they find to weather apps. The satellites along with local meteorologists (weather analysts) provide information to weather apps, w...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a420ap
How do buttons on electronic devices have more than one function based on how long you press them for?
Like when you want to completely turn off a smartphone you hold down the power button for five seconds, but pressing the same button for just one second simply locks the screen. The same for an iMac where the length of time you hold the power button changes what happens, and there’s (apparently) multiple outcomes depen...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebavtla", "ebb6ecu", "ebavvrn", "ebb95p7" ], "text": [ "When you depress the button, it allows electricity to flow through a gap, like turning on a faucet. Another circuit measures how long that electricity flows for. When you lift your finger, the flow of electricity turns off, a...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a43gqp
How does Teslas giant battery work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebb7i3e" ], "text": [ "It's just a bunch of smaller cells. You know how a remote control seems to always take two AAs? It's like that but on a larger scale and with much more than 3 volts involved. There's 3 ways to set up cells: series, parallel, and series-parallel. Series is where they're ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a43j0x
In photography, with regards to exposure bracketing, what does the term 'stops' mean? And how does it all work, does the camera actually take 3 pictures and just merge them or?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebb7trb", "ebbc5ia" ], "text": [ "Stops is an old photography term, from the age of film. Most of photography has difficult units, and this is a way of avoiding that. Exposure bracketing involves taking three pictures: neutral, +1 stop over exposed, and -1 stop underexposed. The three pic...
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[ "url" ]
a43v6p
How does 2 channel, 4 pole, audio from a 3.5mm jack deliver 7.1 surround sound?
I want to buy a new headset, currently have a USB headset that is 7.1 and I can understand that there is some digital magic at work creating surround sound. I do not, however, understand how a 2 channel stereo, 4 pole, 3.5 mm jack can deliver surround sound... how does it not require 7 channels? Looking at HyperX Cloud...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebbb7ht" ], "text": [ "The additional channels are decoded by the receiver. Dolby Pro Logic does this (very old school surround). So the signal is encoded by the manufacturer of the audio and when you turn on the Dolby Pro Logic it sends a different set of tracks that include the whole data, ...
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[ "url" ]
a44oco
How do devices like JUUL detect inhale?
I have taken mine apart, both pod and device and I am completely stumped as to how devices such as the JUUL detect when you inhale. Any ideas?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebbhcfc" ], "text": [ "Not sure on how JUUL are set up, but there's two types. If you have to hold a button it doesn't have to detect any inhalation, the button activates the coil. If it is a manual device without a button, there is a pressure switch that is delicate enough to be drawn closed...
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[ "url" ]
a46tv5
How do Draw Bridges kmow when a boat is coming to pass by? How are the traffic lights programmed for this?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebbzelf", "ebc40uy" ], "text": [ "Usually there's someone controlling the drawbridge, and when they open the bridge the lights turn red", "Usually, a boat will radio the intent to pass through the channel spaned by the bridge. The drawbridge operator may open the bridge upon a single ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a46u8m
how a vinyl record is able to produce music and sounds since it’s a just a piece of plastic
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebbzft3" ], "text": [ "There are very small grooves etched into the surface of the disc and these grooves have tiny hills and valleys in them as well as being squiggly back and forth. As the needle of a record player follows these grooves the vibrations caused by it going up and down and back...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a46z0h
Does memory that’s been ‘leaked’ ever get freed?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebc0etb", "ebc4u0a", "ebc6fzx" ], "text": [ "Yes. Applications don't get direct memory access. They're given virtual memory, and the OS will reclaim all of the virtual memory once the program ends.", "Sure, just turn off the power. When the machine starts back up, all those alloca...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a476ue
Why would a solar storm's sustained magnetic field NOT destroy all data-even tape drives? If a degausser wipes data with powerful sustained magnetic fields, why would a weeklong solar storm not have the same effect on our data?
Could a solar storm big enough and sustained long enough destroy all data storage devices that aren't inside a Faraday cage? Why or why not?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebc2uvj" ], "text": [ "A really strong solar storm causes changes of > 250 nanoTesla in the magnetic field. The absolutely worst geomagnetic storm is estimated to have peaked at 1760 nanoTeslas. For reference, the Earth's magnetic field is around 50 microTesla or around 25x stronger than the ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a47tq0
Why do PC drives always default to C: as the boot drive?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebc72n5", "ebc7461", "ebc75fd" ], "text": [ "A an B were reserved for floppy drives. One for boot, one for programs. C was for a hard disk.", "This is a Windows OS convention that originates back from the days when the first two drives, A and B, were for large \"floppy\" drives. H...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4bctx
How Do the Different Cell Networks Talk to Eachother ? e.g. I Send a Group SMS to 12 Contacts. Some Contacts Receive it Immediately. Others Don't Receive it for up to 3.5 Hours.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebd7jg1" ], "text": [ "before we start on the text message, we need to talk about the cell phone and tower relationship. whenever a phone has its cell radio turned on (not in airplane mode), it's going to broadcast a message \"i am krystar78's phone, is any cell tower hearing me?\" if there's...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4dj56
How did admirals know the location of their ships and control them over vast distances before the invention of radios?
Was reading about the battle of trafalgar and was curious how fleets were managed and how they communicated
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebdh786", "ebdhkdt" ], "text": [ "In short: they didn't. The longer answer is that they sent out faster ships to certain ports, with messages. Hoping to meet up when the ships in question resuplied. Most ports also kept records of ships sighted. In the shorter distance of fleets signal fl...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4do96
It seems like we’ve had telephones for decades, but the sound quality of phone calls has remained the same. Why is this?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebdnyy7", "ebe5obu", "ebdiyqj", "ebdyb1j", "ebe0n6r", "ebe3z3h", "ebdi3cq", "ebdkoum" ], "text": [ "> but the sound quality of phone calls has remained the same. No it hasn't. I grew up in small-town Canada in the 1970s. I won't say I recall the exact sound of the ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4eo0i
How did we count the years before we knew that the earth went around the sun?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebdrf1l", "ebdr7ik" ], "text": [ "We still had seasons. So someone might say their child was born during fall harvest and has been through 5 winters. Or use landmark points in time and say they got their scars during the wildfire of the dry summer thunderstorm. I don't know how useful it ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4f27q
Why are cartoon movies colored differently than their TV counterparts?
When comparing episodes of a cartoon TV show (ex. Spongebob or Hey Arnold) to their respective movies, the coloring (and sometimes even the art style) doesn't look quite the same. What is different about creating the artwork for movies?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebe1gjn", "ebebrjd", "ebdzf00", "ebedsq4", "ebeilcu" ], "text": [ "1. The medium: they are going to be viewed on is different. A movie screen is substantially different than a tv screen and a different aspect ratio. This requires higher quality picture 2. time: they have more ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4g0cx
Why does picture quality on Netflix appear to be of much higher quality than Cable TV even when both sources are outputting 1080p?
Both Netflix and Cable output 1080p, but the quality on Netflix is much clearer than that of cable which looks a bit more grainy. I've even rewatched shows that used to air on cable and it's not even close. Will cable TV quality ever actually catch up?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebe2gvr", "ebegkmg", "ebea2hi", "ebef5sl", "ebef19q", "ebeaukq", "ebeep40", "ebehbp3", "ebegt9o", "ebekvx6", "ebeehk9", "ebeft8y", "ebfoh5a", "ebfob3n", "ebeiwfg", "ebelrdq" ], "text": [ "It depends entirely on how much *compression*...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4gzqg
Signs on the freeway that say "Speed enforced by aircraft"
What aircraft are these? And how are they enforcing speed? I assume it's not armed drones decimating speeding minivans.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebeclco", "ebed1hc", "ebecuoj", "ebedkzd", "ebeck8f", "ebepdmm", "ebehs71", "ebeg0i8" ], "text": [ "It just means that there may be an airplane or helicopter overhead checking your speed. If you're breaking the limit, a car will be dispatched to pull you over. That...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4h1p3
Why does internet speed fluctuate? i.e., why does it go from 25 mbps to 30 mbps?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebeerkl", "ebehyaz" ], "text": [ "Side question: Why does my computer lie to me and tell me I have full connection yet I can't load any web sites?", "Along with what others have mentioned, error correction plays a large role in it. We don't often think about the physical reality of da...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4h1xo
Why does a dead laptop turns on right away when plugged in but a dead phone must charge for a few minutes before turning on ?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebedwhb", "ebehwhi", "ebeevvf" ], "text": [ "A laptop can run directly off wall power; a phone cannot. Even when a phone is plugged in, it's actually running off battery power. So when you plug in a dead phone it takes several minutes to build up enough charge to power itself up.", ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4kvi7
How does cellphone reception work?
Does a cellphone (3G/4G) tower send radio waves in your general direction, or does anyone receive every wave but if it's not for your phone it decides not to do anything with it?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebfdezu", "ebffx96" ], "text": [ "Phones emanate in all directions, they do not have directional antennas or you would have to specifically point it toward a tower to use it. So every thing is just floating out there and other cellphones just ignore it because it's not addressed for them....
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4kxh9
why have the reposted pictures less quality than the original post?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebfcffd" ], "text": [ "Iirc: whenever you post to, say, Facebook, the platform compresses the picture, by default. So, you take a pic with your phone and post it... Suppose its quality is defined by a value which is defined at 1'000'000. You post it and it goes to 100'000. Someone saves it, a...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4l2yf
Why do certain setting changes on your computer or phone require the device to restart and other don’t?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebffsug", "ebfdh12" ], "text": [ "If you want to change your car's tires, you have to stop driving it while the work is being done. The tires are fundamental to the car's use, so they can't be changed *while* the car is being used. You can change the station on your car's radio any time y...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4o8w9
What's the difference between JPG, JPEG and PNG?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebg9xi6" ], "text": [ "JPG and JPEG is the same. It is a file format for pictures with pretty good compression, which works best on photos. Compression rate is variable and can be chosen when saving the picture. Higher compression means smaller files (and thus faster downloads) - but at the c...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4ql7t
Computers at workplaces of major corporations warn us that upon logging in, we agree to be monitored. How are we actually being monitored?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebgspr0", "ebgwh9p", "ebh1kda", "ebgt62f", "ebgtulw" ], "text": [ "Generally logs are kept regarding what sites each user visits and if you have permissions to download files that's also logged as well.", "I've worked in shops that in addition to standard network logging, ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4uhnk
What is YouTube Rewind and why is it so widely hated?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebhm939", "ebhpu40" ], "text": [ "Youtube rewind is a video that youtube makes near the end of the year to highlight what was popular and important in the past year. Now, why it is so widely hated, there isnt a single answer for that. A few reasons stated are: too much political \"propaga...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4vknj
How do guns actually work
More specifically the trigger mechanism and chambering, not the obvious explosion propels bullet.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebhtrqa", "ebhwnpw" ], "text": [ "They're all built around a primer that creates a spark when struck and the spark ignites the gunpowder inside the round propelling the bullet through the barrel. All modern guns are designed to strike the primer hard enough to create with a firing pin whe...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4xl66
How is the new Ocean Cleanup Machine supposed to clean up trash without hurting wildlife?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebifcfg" ], "text": [ "Not clear. One of the big challenges with ocean plastic cleanup is that the plastic particles are about the same size, shape, and density as a bunch of living organisms. How is a filter supposed to tell the difference between a dinoflagellate and a microbead, or a plast...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4xt58
Do 4k panels weigh more than 1080p?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebiab9n" ], "text": [ "Not really. Think of a tile floor, you can have tiles of any size, they will still cover the same amount of floor space, even if it's tiny mosaic tiles no bigger than a dime. So that's the way it works with pixels. They have just found a way to make the individual units...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4ya5x
how does radiotherapy work?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebiei4b" ], "text": [ "Radiation damagea cells by randomly breaking DNA. If some important part of the DNA is broken the cell needs to repair it or die. Cancerous cells are worse at this kind of repair than normal cells, that's sort of what makes then cancerous. So radiation kills cancerous c...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a4yrm7
The reason that some updates and downloads HAVE to be carried out using Wi-Fi instead of data
Some updates require you to download them via Wi-Fi, regardless of whether you have a data cap or not. Is this to prevent those who do have caps from accidentally eating up all their data with a large download or update, or is their another reason?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebijbw9" ], "text": [ "There is no phone or computer OS out there that forces you to download via WiFi only. You always have the option to download via your carrier. All that has happened is that they have a hidden option somewhere in the relevant settings for that update that says \"Allow up...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a50dbm
Why do a lot of movies and video games use the exact same sound effects?
I've noticed a fair number of them use the exact same door opening sound, children's laughter, baby crying etc. Obviously there's something I don't understand here, but I would think it wouldn't be hard to just open and close any random door and record that? Or to go to anyone with a baby and record it crying. I know t...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebivdk2", "ebivgpx", "ebiznz5" ], "text": [ "Same reason a lot of movies use the same props. Unless the exact flavour of door sound is critical to the plot, why bother to record it anew when you have terabytes of sound effects libraries pre-recorded and ready to load into Pro Tools? R...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a50dj8
How do we keep in contact with spacecrafts like Voyager 1 which is millions of miles away from Earth?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebiwowa" ], "text": [ "Well it's not that different to making a phone call. Most communication with space crafts are done via radio communication. Radio waves travel at the speed of light which is about 300 000 km/s or 190 000 mi/s so even if the space craft is millions of miles away you just...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a514v6
How did people protect against forgeries in the past?
Before the telegraph/telephones, how could people trust any documents handed to them? Like in the movie "A Knight's tale", wouldn't every scam artist just write his own nobility papers? Who is going to check for their veracity? And how? I guess a letter could be sent to the noble's castle but it could take months/years...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebj5z79", "ebj25hm" ], "text": [ "By having trusted messengers, and by having everybody know everybody. If you're a nobleman, and you need to send a letter to the king, you think about whom to send to carry it, you first ask, *who among my family and inner circle, did I introduce to the k...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a51oox
The 20th century and earlier had a lot of Great Citywide Fires. How has fire suppression improved so much that we don't really have those anymore?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebj5pco", "ebjjsg0", "ebj64yl", "ebj7r02" ], "text": [ "Large buildings are no longer made of wood. High-pressure firefighting water lines are laid throughout every large city, with hoses stationed in large buildings, and fire trucks in every district. Most large buildings are fit...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a52ian
How does an automatic focus camera work? How does it "know" what to focus on? Compared to a manual focus of the same "type/parameters" and assuming everything else is identical with no special lenses/filters, etc., which one is inherently better than the other, quality-wise?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebjgv8q" ], "text": [ "Most of this is explained [here]( URL_0 ) so I'll paraphrase what was written there. Light travels into the camera through lenses, where it hits a series of Light Sensitive components. These components allow the camera to see that light as an image represented by dots, ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a54rqx
How do game / software developers decide what to call each version update? e.x. v1.1 vs v1.01
I've seen tons of different version update formats, usually with decimals involved. I sometimes see version updates with multiple periods, such as "v1.01.2". How do developers decide if an update is a .1 update or a .01 update etc. , and what do the occasional extra periods mean?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebjw96z", "ebjwamx", "ebjvgiz", "ebjv1sr", "ebjz86z" ], "text": [ "Often (but not always) the versions are numbered by the [MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH scheme]( URL_0 ), which is widely used. MAJOR means some significant changes in the software, like architecture or development approach...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a54skd
Why is internet speed in underdeveloped/developing nations slower than that of developed nations?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebjvr7f", "ebjx5z7" ], "text": [ "It takes an investment ($$) to build out the infrastructure for high speed internet, like fiber optic cables. Investors don't want to sink a lot of money into developing countries because they don't expect as great a return i.e. profit.", "This is kin...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a57igv
why are car batteries already "good enough" that they haven't changed much while all other battery technology has improved?
Car batteries look basically the same in cars from decades ago, but mobile devide batteries are much smaller, stronger etc. So what is it about the standard car battery technology that has stood the test of time?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebke2gj", "ebkmilg", "ebktfbv" ], "text": [ "Car batteries require a very powerful, but short burst of energy to get the engine started. This is very different of what we expect of other battery use cases: small size and long endurance. In that sense a car battery acts more like a cap...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a59evy
How does a washing machine actually clean clothes?
So I get that hot water and soap help, but how does the spin work to scrub the clothes?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebkszlo" ], "text": [ "The spin cycle isn't for cleaning. It's to remove most of the water. The cleaning cycle twists the drum back and forth to move the clothes, soap, water around and the agitator (the thing in the middle) helps make bubbles and make things rub against each other. Basically...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a59zm3
Why do miniguns have to "rev" or spin up before being able to fire?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebl2i7k", "ebkxwea", "eblg7oe", "ebl2xfv" ], "text": [ "A minigun is actually unloaded until you push the trigger. It can take a fraction of a second for the feed mechanism to get up to speed so it can load the chambers of the gun until the gun actually starts firing. And you do n...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a5al7m
Why is 2-D animation more timeless than 3-D?
I guess the more straightforward explanation is that 3-D has another dimension, making it more complex. It’s just that every time we see a cgi heavy “marvel”, it inevitably shows its age least a decade later. But movies from the 40’s still look splendid.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebl6a97" ], "text": [ "There are a couple of reasons. A big is like someone else said, CGI often aims to be realistic, while lots of 2D animation is stylized. A stylized animation doesn't look bad compared to a realistic modern animation because the former wasn't trying to be realistic in the...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a5avb8
What type of motor is used to make phones, controllers, etc. vibrate?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebl5hse", "ebl5h3r" ], "text": [ "Usually it is just an electric motor. Nothing really special about it, except that instead of driving a gear or something it has an unbalanced weight on the end. That weight being slung around causes the motor and whatever it is mounted on to vibrate.", ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a5axit
how does placing a bowl of water next my radiator increase the humidity in the house?
I thought that to have vapor in the house, I need to have a boiling point of water. That is the vapor pressure = atmospheric pressure. If I place the bowl of water next to my radiator, it is no where near boiling, yet there is a noticeable decrease of my water in my bowl. Can someone shed some knowledge to me.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebl64m5", "ebl6een" ], "text": [ "Ever take a hot shower and the mirror is all foggy? The water isn't boiling but water vapor still gets into the air.", "Boiling water creates a lot of evaporation, but even in room-temp water, there will be a small amount of ongoing evaporation as wat...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a5b2mn
How do fingerprint scanners on phones work?
Yes i've searched for this answer and found the same question (#7), but the answer did not really sastisfy as a ELI5 and therefore me does still not understand..
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebl8u8y" ], "text": [ "> There are three primary types of fingerprint scanners on the market. The one used in smartphones is called a capacitive scanner, as it relies on a property called capacitance. Basically, the scanner plate (typically a pad somewhere on the phone, often built into the h...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a5bodv
How you can have the notification saying "new password cannot be old password" despite being told your old password is wrong
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eblcc0y" ], "text": [ "There are a few possibilities: * You just made a mistake when entering your password the first time. * The password is case sensitive, but when it tests against old passwords it's case insensitive. So if your password is microwave and you login with Microwave it will be...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a5cgbk
How does banning Huawei/ZTE from 5G network combat spying?
4G speeds should easily be able to to upload secret audio/video recordings within managable timesframes.
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eblixai" ], "text": [ "Huawei and ZTE are specifically using their hardware to spy on customers, and possibly worse. They are both doing it on behalf of the government of China for (as of yet unknown) economic, military, and political use by the Chinese govt, and its way out in the open now. ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a5d2xf
What features give bullets power, effectiveness, and so on, and why there isn't just one best bullet?
The context behind this was this: I was reading about the FN Five-seveN, which - true to its name - uses FN's special bullet, a 5.7 x 28mm cartridge. After a brief period of consideration (and a little bit of googling for inch conversion), I came to realize a few things. 5.7mm (0.224 inches) is *puny*. I vaguely rememb...
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "eblpk8q", "eblppre", "eblq28o", "eblpf4f" ], "text": [ "There's a lot of personal preference for handgun rounds, but for rifle rounds it is much more established Big bullets like the .308 Winchester and .30-06 will travel really far and will take out a person with a good hit witho...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a5do6l
what is (video) rendering, why is it necessary, and why does it take such an enormous amount of time?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebltx0g", "ebm3uxk" ], "text": [ "hmmm... I guess a very simple way of saying this is that the computer is ‘drawing’ all the things in each frame of the video.", "These descriptions are correct. Adding to this if your video has 3D elements or it is totaly 3D (like toy story) the compu...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a5f524
Why, as a normal civilian, should I be worried about data leaks?
Asking more out of interest to learn, it seems like such a bad thing for companies to have your data, but what's the actual harm in this?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebm48ep", "ebm5q4d" ], "text": [ "If they have your email and password, and you use the same password for your email (which many people do), they can effectively take control of your online presence (sending password resets for things). A little digging in your personal emails and they co...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a5fm3i
What are the random characters you see when you open an MP3 file in Notepad?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebm7kej", "ebma7bm" ], "text": [ "The way notepad process the 1s and 0s is different from the way a mp3 player processes those ines and 0s so the notepad sees rick astleys never gonna give you up as a series of random letters and numbers", "All files are 0's and 1's on your computer. ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a5fo2i
When people used to rely more heavily on well systems, how did they keep that water from being stagnant and unhealthy to drink?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebm7p90", "ebm83hz", "ebm8wiy", "ebma78y" ], "text": [ "Stagnant results from when it has decaying organic matter in it, or some other pollutant. As long as a well is kept covered, there isn't much that can get in there. If they really thought it had a problem they could just remo...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a5g1ga
How to you build/compile from github?
How do you build/compile from something like this URL_0 I never understood this Is it simple or difficult? Any step by step tutorial?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebmag4a", "ebmbwdl" ], "text": [ "there is nothing to compile, the above is bunch of javascript front and backend. Just look at URL_1 for instructions, follow them. once you set it up and startup the web server, you’ll just point your browser to it like so URL_0", "Depending on the pr...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a5hkh7
Why are servers where they are
On every game that I play, the servers are always in one location for that region (German servers for EU, Singaporean servers for South Asia, Japan servers for East Asia). Why are these servers not placed at other countries?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebmk06k", "ebmk4jr", "ebmk9fe" ], "text": [ "It costs more to have multiple server sites. You need a building and personnel to service them, or hire arrangements with more providers for space on theirs. On the other hand, distance usually results in increased delay times for a single ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a5jhca
What is the difference between a video and a gif?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebmyhcl", "ebnmdq3" ], "text": [ "A video will use more frames per second making it much more fluid. Videos also usually have audio files to accompany the video, gifs are more like a looping slideshow", "The biggest difference is compression - gifs compress each image individually. Vi...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a5mya2
How do websites like the Wayback Machine work? They can't possibly visit every obscure website in existence to take frequent snapshots, right?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebns7s0" ], "text": [ "That's pretty much exactly what they do. URL_1 They use something called a [web crawler]( URL_0 ), which is basically a bot that visits every publically accessible website that it can find. They store millions of gigabytes of data." ], "score": [ 15 ], "text...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]
a5nfon
What makes a device "safe to remove"?
If I don't click to "Safely remove ...", what could be the worst-case scenario? Does Windows or OSx make a difference?
Technology
explainlikeimfive
{ "a_id": [ "ebnvqvt", "ebnvpf2", "ebo6hqx" ], "text": [ "So let's say you're writing in a book. If I let you finish what you're writing and update the table of contents, it's all good. The book can be 'safely removed' from your desk. But, if I just pull the book away, you might still be writing. ...
[ "url" ]
[ "url" ]